Monday, January 28, 2013

desperate measures

So after another night of waking up at 3am and never falling back asleep, I've decided it's time for desperate measures. I mean, it's Fashion Week. I can't be taking Fashion pictures every day with giant bags under my eyes. That's just embarrassing.

So my problem isn't with being sleepy or falling asleep-- I'm going to bed at my normal time (10pm) and falling asleep just fine. The problem comes at about 3am when I wake up and then can never fall BACK asleep. I don't have to pee. I'm not thirsty. I'm not too hot or cold. My mind isn't racing. I don't feel stressed, except for when I anticipate how tired I'll be all day if I can't fall back asleep. 

I've tried hot tea at night. Melatonin pills. A bath before bed. I definitely do not nap or drink caffeine after like 9am. What the heck am I doing wrong here??!

Yesterday Lizzie recommended this webpage and 'recipe,' saying that it did the trick when she was having the same 3am problems. I read through it (and all one billion comments) and decided it sounded totally worth a try. The science seems legit enough. And even if it's not-- what've I got to lose? Another night of sleep? Done and done. I was going to try the recipe last night, but lacked the right kind of salt.

Oh, what's in this recipe, you ask? I'm glad you asked. Prepare yourself for a delicious thought.

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1/2 tsp. Himalayan or Celtic salt (or sea salt, as per comments)

Mix it all up, do it like a shot.

Because can you imagine how disgusting that tastes? A nice salty, chalky shot of OJ? SICK!!!!! I kinda want to hurl just thinking about it. But seriously, I'd rather hurl then spend another night not-sleeping.

If you're wondering why those three random things might possibly help me sleep through the night, check out the article-- it all has something to do with stress, liver function, and adrenal glands. So, yeah, basically not something I would have come up with on my own.

So anyway. Now you know. Tonight. 9:30pm. Me, OJ, and a few nasty items from the baking cabinet. Throwing it back like a shot. And then, please God please, sleeping through the night.

I'll be sure to keep you posted. If anyone knows any other nasty (or non-nasty, I'd take that too!) home remedies they want me to try, send 'em my way! Apparently I'll stop at nothing...

17 comments:

  1. Yes, keep us posted! I would have gone for something much more boring: Tylenol PM. But I can understand why you don't want to get dependent on drugs and all that.

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  2. Ewwww...but, sleep is way more important than 2 seconds of a nasty, salty treat! Good luck girl, wishing you many zzzzz's and sweet dreams!

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  3. I hope that this sleepy shot works for you! I also hope that if you take it at 9:30 p.m., it will keep you awake until at least 10 p.m., when The Bachelor ends ;)

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  4. I really hoped that this worked because otherwise it was just a gross shot! ;-)

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  5. I have no brilliant ideas but I am praying for sleep for you. This has gotta suck.

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  6. One positive of my long relationship with hives is that the Benadryl made it easier for me to sleep. I have trouble going to sleep. But my doctors approved it for pregnancy (some women take it for nausea) and it is non habit forming. You can even take it during breast feeding usually but is can dry up supply. For me, I just make sure I'm getting plenty of fluids. (Tylenol pm is Tylenol and Benadryl.). Just wanted to share that in case those reasons were keeping you from trying medications.

    Well, that and I have a horrible gag reflex and I assume I'd never be able to keep that shot down. Ha.

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  7. You and Charles seem to be having the same problem. I don't think he would drink the oj salty shot though. Hope it works for you.

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  8. For what it's worth (probably not much), my acupuncturist always told me that if you wake up often between 3-5 am, that it's stress-related. Ha, I know that doesn't help, but at least it's a plausible explanation? Maybe you need to quit working and retire on a beach?

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  9. you may already be doing this, but i've had quite a few friends who have had seasons of their life where they will wake up at the same time at weird times like 3am. what they would always tell me they found was that the Lord was trying to speak to them about something. they said they would start reading the Bible or praying and those times were actually some of the best encounters with God they've ever had. so if you find yourself still waking up i would try reading or praying.

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  10. Hmmm...sounds interesting! I want to hear how it goes! I hate nights like that and I, too, get super stressed about how tired I will be due to the lack of sleep! Kids eat tired adults alive at my school!

    Here is a smoothie that I pinned, but have not tried:
    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/sleep-doctor-sleep-slim-smoothie

    It sounds much tastier than what you'll be drinking tonight! I plan to sub almond milk for the soy since I try to avoid soy (endo diet!). And, according to google, alond milk also contains tryptophan, so I figure it should work the same! Hope you get a good night's sleep tonight!

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  11. I agree that my middle-of-the-night wakings are often God trying to get my attention about something. However, for me this is only rarely the case. If I wake many nights in a row, it's just plain ole insomnia. Usually a night or 2 with Tylenol pm and I get caught up and am then back on track without needing to take anything. In the meantime, when I wake in the night and can't fall back asleep, a special regiment of moving to the couch and watching Friends usually means I'm only awake 1-2 hours, which is no fun but is better than never going back to sleep at all. The change of location helps, as does watching something that keeps my mind somewhat occupied but I don't care if I miss the end since I've seen them all a hundred times. Good luck with the oj shot!

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  12. I really hope this helps! I thought it was crazy when I first saw it, but was also desperate and willing to try (almost) anything. Keep us updated!

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  13. I WANT TO TRY THIS. Keep us posted on how it goes down.

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  14. I gagged at the thought. That sounds AWFUL. The interrupted sleep must be terrible to try that. Can't you just take a sleep PM or something? Kudos to you for trying it au naturale. Good luck!

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  15. Please do let me know if it works! I have been waking up at 3 am almost everyday too. Ugh. So awful.

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  16. Did it work? If not. . . I second Amanda on the retire and live on a beach idea.

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  17. Sad about the early wake-ups! Has this only been since you changed your diet? Perhaps you're not getting enough of a certain vitamin or mineral (hence the change to the adrenals). Just a thought.

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